The trade organization behind the USB 3.0 specification has announced a new upgraded spec that promises higher data speeds over backwards compatible connections.

The new spec enhanced SuperSpeed USB 3.0 spec should deliver a 10 Gbps data rate -- the same as current Thunderbolt connectors -- though don't expect it any time soon. The new protocol should be finalized sometime in 2013, with initial products featuring the connector appearing in late-2014 or 2015, reports CNET.

Quote:

To take advantage of the double-speed USB 3.0 interface, devices such as computers, hubs, and digital cameras will need new USB controller hardware. However, the new version of USB 3.0 uses the same connectors, so existing USB devices can be plugged into the higher-speed ports.

USB 3.0 cables may or may not work. "Existing SuperSpeed USB cables are not certified to operate at 10 Gbps; it is possible that some existing SuperSpeed USB cables may be capable of operating at 10 Gbps," the group said.

The new devices should be backwards compatible with older USB hardware, though not at the upgraded speeds.

Thunderbolt, which moves data at up to 10Gbps in both directions, appears mostly on Apple devices currently, but devices tend to be more expensive than their USB 3.0-compatible counterparts. However, Thunderbolt does have a strong ally in Intel, with the company pushing the standard heavily.

Is this a side-swipe of "we need our own 10Gig" standard, on PC's, becase Apple has Thunderbolt, we need something too?

Lets not forgot, Thunderbolt is not popular, and wide-soread, while USB is, so maybje thats why?

Whichever way you look, new hardware, new cables (probably)

Make ya wonder now, if this is true, why Apple decided to keep Thunderbolt. They must of know its not as popular..

I mean, it has been over 9+ months,, Maybie they think, hopefully it will be big. How much can you do with Thunderbolt, now how much can you do with USB. Plenty more, because manufactures have made it possible on all PC's too, and as adapter cards. I Like to see thunderbolt adapter cards.

There hitting against a brick wall, i hate to say. Its either this (10 Gig USB ports maybie) or USB 3.0 (5 Gig) we have now on new Macs.

Obviously, somone out there is saying, " 5 Gig is just not fast enough, we need to race againt Apple"

This new SuperSpeed USB 3 will likely win out and we'll see the slow death of Thunderbolt just like we saw the slow death of FireWire. A committed following sung the praises of FireWire to the bitter end and that will likely happen with Thunderbolt, as well.

Is this a side-swipe of "we need our own 10Gig" standard, on PC's, becase Apple has Thunderbolt, we need something too?

Lets not forgot, Thunderbolt is not popular, and wide-soread, while USB is, so maybje thats why?

Whichever way you look, new hardware, new cables (probably)

Make ya wonder now, if this is true, why Apple decided to keep Thunderbolt. They must of know its not as popular..

I mean, it has been over 9+ months,, Maybie they think, hopefully it will be big. How much can you do with Thunderbolt, now how much can you do with USB. Plenty more, because manufactures have made it possible on all PC's too, and as adapter cards. I Like to see thunderbolt adapter cards.

There hitting against a brick wall, i hate to say. Its either this (10 Gig USB ports maybie) or USB 3.0 (5 Gig) we have now on new Macs.

Obviously, somone out there is saying, " 5 Gig is just not fast enough, we need to race againt Apple"

Yeah I don't get it either. Thunderbolt is on it's way to failing miserably so USB 3.0 would be fine at 5 Mbps.

Comparing thunderbolt and USB 3.0 is like apples and oranges. They are quite different in how they work. Thunderbolt effectively extends the PCI bus over cables (and now there are Thunderbolt fiber optic cables that can go hundreds of feet), so you can put anything on the end of the cable you can plug into a PCI slot. So far products using thunderbolt are more expensive, but they are way more flexible, especially for adding complex devices to laptops or mini's. I am actually surprised no PC vendors have not added it already since it is an Intel SPEC not Apple.

USB 3.0 on the other hand is just faster USB. Very flexible and great for high speed peripherals like external hard drives, cameras etc. The device driver model is completely different to Thunderbolt though.

The primary reason for a faster USB 3.0 spec is really for external data storage as the latest SSD drives (especially in RAID) can swamp out even the current USB 3.0 spec. And by the time super speed USB 3.0 arrives, the drives will likely be much faster and will need 10G connections to keep up.

At the end of the day they really serve different purposes, which is the reason the latest Mac's come with both. I doubt it will ever be one or the other.

This new SuperSpeed USB 3 will likely win out and we'll see the slow death of Thunderbolt just like we saw the slow death of FireWire. A committed following sung the praises of FireWire to the bitter end and that will likely happen with Thunderbolt, as well.

Thunderbolt will at the very least remain popular in the professional world, just as FireWire did for a many years. It could even be a little more successful simply because it doubles as a video connector.

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Leave it to Apple to take a standard that is even farther ahead of USB 3 than Firewire was ahead of USB 2, and yet drive it even farther into the ditch than they ever drove FireWire.

The licensing fees, the Apple/Intel exclusivity for the first 12 months, and so on -- every move they have made has intensified the mistakes they made, and obvioiusly did not learn from, with FireWire.